Estate owner kept gun under his bed for ‘security’ after burglaries

A “GENTLEMAN” landowner who slept with a shotgun under his bed after a series of burglaries has been fined after police raided his home.

William Rowley, 58, told police that the gun was under his bed “for security purposes” because he and his wife felt vulnerable.

Mr Rowley, whose family own an estate and airfield in the Eden Valley, Cumbria, was described as “a gentleman who has led a law-abiding lifestyle” when he appeared before magistrates.

But a judge fined him £500 and revoked his shotgun licence after saying he was “concerned” by Mr Rowley’s remarks about security during a police interview.

Police and fire officers visited Mr Rowley’s Glassonby Lodge farm at 9.15am on Jan 19 to assess how a number of guns kept at the address were being stored – the guns were legally held under the terms of his firearms certificate on condition that they must be stored securely in cabinets.

Carlisle magistrates heard Mr Rowley had just got out of bed when the officers arrived and showed them where his weapons were kept.

All the guns inside the property were seen to be correctly locked away, apart from a 20 bore side-by-side double-barrelled shotgun, which was found under a bed. In a police interview, Mr Rowley was asked why it was there.

He replied: “This is for security purposes. Me and my wife are scared from all the burglaries we’ve had.”

The livestock farmer also claimed he had been shooting vermin the previous day and had been “waylaid” before he had been able to store it in its cabinet.

Mr Rowley, a former director of Glassonby airfield, is part of the family that has owned the Rowley Estates near Penrith, since the 1800s. The estate, with farms, woodland and manors, has been the family’s for six generations.

Rowley admitted failing to comply with the condition of a shotgun certificate, and was sentenced by District Judge John Temperley.

The court was told that Rowley had handled firearms without incident since the age of 15 and was a man of “hitherto impeccable character”.

Chris Wilson, mitigating, said: “This is a gentleman who for the whole of his life has led a law-abiding lifestyle. It was an oversight on his part.”

Of the court appearance, he added: “This has been a significant, life-altering experience for him.”

As well as fining him £500, the district judge also ordered the forfeiture of four shotguns and some ammunition seized by police.

Rowley’s shotgun certificate was also cancelled.